Archive By Section - Kershaw County

The S.C. Association for Volunteer Administration (SCAVA) recently bestowed its 2013 Volunteer Group award to the Kershaw County Volunteer Guardians ad Litem (GALs). SCAVA and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley presented the award, with others, during a ceremony May 16.

Kershaw County Council amended its proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget in order to transfer funding for Camden-based school resource officers (SROs) from the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) to the Camden Police Department (CPD). Council took up the amendment as part of second reading of the proposed budget during its meeting Tuesday.

Kershaw County residents wanting to have their say about how Kershaw County Council should make budget appropriations for Fiscal Year 2014 will have their chance during council's meeting Tuesday night. The first item on council's agenda is a public hearing on the budget. Council voted on first reading of the budget by title only at its May 14; the fiscal year begins July 1.

After nearly a decade of being positions within the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO), three school resource officer (SRO) slots at schools inside Camden's city limits may return to being Camden Police Department (CPD) officers.

Kershaw County community members celebrated as former Kershaw County Recreation Center Director James E. Davis Jr. was sworn in as a county magistrate judge on Thursday afternoon. Kershaw County Councilman Jimmy Jones, Fifth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Brett Perry and Rep. Laurie S. Funderburk spoke at the short ceremony at the Kershaw County Court House. Judge Roderick M. Todd Jr. called the ceremony to order; Clerk of Court Joyce McDonald administered the oath; Rev. Constance Barnes, of St. Matthews United Methodist church gave the invocation and Rev. Ellis White, of Camden First United Methodist Church gave the benediction.

Lugoff Fire Department (LFD) Chief Dennis Ray had some good news for Kershaw County Council Tuesday: there would be no tax increase of the Lugoff Fire District. Ray said that after completing its Fiscal Year 2014 budget, a tax increase was not necessary.

Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews wants to pay his deputies more money in an effort to keep them on staff instead of losing them to other agencies. Matthews told Kershaw County Council members during a work session Thursday that the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is becoming a training ground, and that the level of staff experience is decreasing as he loses valuable personnel.

Several Lake Wateree residents reported that their docks were underwater or inaccessible due to high lake levels Thursday. Duke Energy, which operates dams along the Catawba River basin, of which Lake Wateree is a part, alerted residents earlier this week to prepare for the rising water. It said significant rainfall had led the company to open spillways and floodgates along the chain so that water could flow at a "measured pace" to protect low-lying homes.

Around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Duke Energy opened a gate by 15 feet at Cedar Creek, just upstream from Lake Wateree. According to a copy of an email message sent by Duke Energy to members of the Lake Wateree Association, the company opened the gate due to significant rainfall in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin.

Community leaders from Kershaw County gathered April 30 with Connect South Carolina at the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce to discuss a broadband expansion effort. The program is designed with goals to bridge the technology gap, boost the economy and also prepare the ground for innovations.